Administration

Program Administration

The PSDP administrative office is located at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, NY. The Program Office coordinates application and evaluation materials, arranges all meetings for the PSDP fellows and committees, and is charged with day-to-day management of the PSDP and its budgets. Fellows’ salaries and expenses are administered as subcontracts through their approved training institutions.

Team

Program Leadership

Sallie Permar

Sallie Permar, MD, PhD

Program Director

Chair of the Department of Pediatrics and Nancy C. Paduano Professor and Pediatrician-in-Chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. Provides strategic leadership for PSDP, advancing its mission to train and support the next generation of pediatric physician-scientists.

Adin Nelson

Adin Nelson, MD, MHPE

General Curriculum Lead

Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine and Associate Pediatrics Clerkship Director. Leads the PSDP career development curriculum and coordinates expert faculty and guest speakers.

Joy Howell

Joy Howell, MD

Early Career Faculty Development Lead

Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine and a nationally recognized leader in faculty development. Delivers programming on academic career advancement, mentorship, leadership, and negotiation skills.

Crystal Botham

Crystal Botham, PhD

Director of Grant Writing and Professional Development

Director of the Office of Pediatric Research Development at Stanford University and Founder of the Biosciences Grant Writing Academy. Leads grant writing and professional development training for scholars.

Program Staff

Janet Lam

Janet Lam, MSW

Program Manager

Oversees the day-to-day operations of PSDP and serves as the primary point of contact for scholars, alumni, mentors, and institutional partners. Manages administration, tracking, reporting, and alumni engagement.

Dakota Koop

Dakota Koop

Program Assistant

Provides administrative and operational support for PSDP activities, helping coordinate scholar programming, communications, meetings, and data management.

Committees

Governance & oversight

The PSDP is advised by a national Steering Committee which sets the program policies. Its members include representatives of AMSPDC and the funding agencies. Sallie Permar, MD, PhD, is the current Director of the Pediatric Scientist Development Program.

SC

Selection Committee

Conducts annual interviews of candidates and ranks them for funding. May include faculty not on the steering committee who represent relevant scientific fields.

PE

Program Evaluation Committee

Sets programmatic policy and reviews the Program’s effectiveness in terms of the PSDP fellows’ training and career development.

Funding Agency Representatives on the Steering Committee

Edward Behrens, MD Edward Behrens, MD Rheumatology Research Foundation Robert Colbert, MD, PhD Robert Colbert, MD, PhD Arthritis Foundation / CARRA Wendy Chung, MD, PhD Wendy Chung, MD, PhD Warren Alpert Foundation (WAF) Janna Patterson, MD, MPH Janna Patterson, MD, MPH American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Anitha John, MD, PhD Anitha John, MD, PhD American Heart Association (AHA) Susan Furth, MD, PhD Susan Furth, MD, PhD American Pediatric Society (APS) Jacqueline Ho, MD, MSc. Jacqueline Ho, MD, MSc. Association of Pediatric Program Directors (APPD) Elizabeth Yu, PhD Elizabeth Yu, PhD Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) Jonathan Cherry Jonathan Cherry March of Dimes (MOD) Susan Samuel, MD, MSc Susan Samuel, MD, MSc ENRICH

Selection Committee

Stephanie Davis, MD Stephanie Davis, MD (Chair) UNC Chapel Hill Anthony Flores, MD, MPH, PhD Anthony Flores, MD, MPH, PhD Vanderbilt University Rasheed Gbadegesin, MBBS, MD Rasheed Gbadegesin, MBBS, MD Duke University Alejandro Gutierrez, MD Alejandro Gutierrez, MD St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Praveen Raju, MD, PhD Praveen Raju, MD, PhD University of California San Diego Joseph St. Geme, MD Joseph St. Geme, MD Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Leslie Walker, MD Leslie Walker, MD AMSPDC / University of Washington

Program Evaluation Committee

Carla Davis, MD Carla Davis, MD Howard University Mary Leonard, MD Mary Leonard, MD (Chair) Stanford University Glenn Flores, MD Glenn Flores, MD University of Miami Ophir Klein, MD, PhD Ophir Klein, MD, PhD Cedars-Sinai Theresa Lu, MD, PhD Theresa Lu, MD, PhD Hospital for Special Surgery / Weill Cornell Donna Martin, MD, PhD Donna Martin, MD, PhD University of Michigan Rashmin Savani, MBChB Rashmin Savani, MBChB University of Florida John Williams, MD John Williams, MD University of Wisconsin-Madison

Oversight

How fellows are reviewed

PSDP committee members are available to advise fellows throughout the training period. Fellows and their mentors submit yearly progress reports to the Steering Committee, which monitors continued academic development and the sponsoring department’s commitment. The Program Evaluation Committee also reviews career development at the annual PSDP meeting, held with the AMSPDC annual meeting, usually in late February/early March.

Year One

Individual advising

First-year fellows receive individual advising from committee members as they begin their protected research time.

Year Two

Interview & poster

Second-year fellows undergo interviews, with committee members identifying areas of concern, and present posters of their research.

Year Three

Interview & oral summary

Third-year fellows undergo interviews and present brief oral summaries of their research to pediatric department chairs and residents.

Every fellow, every year

  • All fellows attend career development workshops covering mentorship, grant proposal preparation, personal–professional balance, and effective negotiation.
  • Yearly progress reports are submitted jointly by fellows and their mentors to the Steering Committee.